Book Review: To Walk About In Freedom

Summary

"To Walk About In Freedom" by Carole Emberton is a biographical history book that recounts the life of Priscilla Joyner, exploring the personal and emotional aspects of emancipation for formerly enslaved people during the Civil War era.

Abstract

The book "To Walk About In Freedom" delves into the life of Priscilla Joyner, born into slavery in 1858, and her journey to define freedom following the Civil War. Historian Carole Emberton uses Joyner's oral history, along with interviews from the Federal Writers' Project, to illustrate the intimate and complex experiences of those who transitioned from enslavement to freedom. The narrative captures the nuanced challenges and triumphs of this generation, including the emotional and practical aspects of their newfound autonomy, such as choosing what to wear, where to live, and whom to love. Despite Joyner's education and loving marriage, the shadow of slavery and the rise of Jim Crow laws continued to impact her life. The book emphasizes the personal stories of emancipation and invites readers to reflect on the ongoing consequences of slavery's legacy.

Opinions

The reviewer highly recommends the book, considering it a realistic and comprehensive account of life during the Emancipation Proclamation.
The book is praised for its ability to convey the struggles and joys experienced by the charter generation of freed individuals.
It is noted that the book offers a kaleidoscopic look at the lived experiences of emancipation, challenging readers to consider the enduring impact of slavery.
The reviewer rates "To Walk About In Freedom" five out of five stars, indicating a strong endorsement of its historical value and storytelling quality.

Book Review: To Walk About In Freedom

To Walk About in Freedom

The Long Emancipation of Priscilla Joyner

by Carole Emberton

Pub Date 08 Mar 2022 | Archive Date 28 Feb 2022

W. W. Norton & Company

Biographies & Memoirs | History | Nonfiction (Adult)

I am reviewing a copy of To Walk About In Freedom through W.W Norton & Company and Netgalley:

To Walk About In Freedom highlights the remarkable life of Priscilla Joyner and her quest — along with other formerly enslaved people to define freedom after the Civil War.

Born in 1858 in North Carolina Priscilla Joyner came to age at at the dawn of emancipation. Raised by a white slaveholding woman, Joyner never knew the truth about her parentage. She grew up isolated and unsure of who she was and where she belonged, feelings that no emancipation proclamation could ease.

Priscilla Joyner’s story was candidly recounted in an oral history for the Federal Writers’ Project, captures the intimate nature of freedom. Using Joyner’s interview and the interviews of other formerly enslaved people, historian Carole Emberton uncovers the deeply personal, emotional journeys of freedom’s charter generation, the people born into slavery who walked into a new world of freedom during the Civil War. From the seemingly mundane to the most vital, emancipation opened up a myriad of new possibilities: what to wear and where to live, what jobs to take and who to love.

Despite being educated at a Freedmen’s Bureau school and married a man she loved, slavery cast a long shadow. Uncertainty about her parentage haunted her life, and as Jim Crow took hold throughout the South, segregation, disfranchisement, and racial violence threatened the loving home she made for her family. But through it all, she found beauty in the world and added to it where she could.

To Walk About in Freedom weaves together illuminating voices from the charter generation, giving us a kaleidoscopic look at the lived experiences of emancipation and challenges us to think anew about the consequences of failing to reckon with the afterlife of slavery.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a realistic recounting of what it was like to live through the Emancipation Proclamation, the struggles, as well as the joys.

I give To Walk About In Freedom five out of five stars!